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22 NOV 2024 · Earlier this week, we spoke with the Managing Director of the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA), Mr. Mike Okoye on the just concluded Anambra State Investment Summit, 2024.
Among other things, he revealed that the State Government was making substantial progress in the various Memoranda of Understanding signed during last year's Anambra Investment Summit.
Okoye said the projects including, the Awka Shopping Mall, the railway master plan and the industrial city master plan, e t.c were making progress due to the quality of contractors onboarded to execute them.
The ANSIPPA boss further disclosed that some projects earlier signed to be located in different parts of the state, including the Pharmaceutical Hub at Ogboji and the Export Emporium have now been retrofitted to fit into one industrial ecosystem known as the Mixed-Use Industrial City.
19 NOV 2024 · The Anambra Investment Summit which held on Thursday, 14th November 2024, has come and gone. It was an event aimed at accelerating sustainable economic growth and positioning Anambra as a preferred investment destination.
Like every other investment summit, the event drew stakeholders from various sectors, including government representatives, industry leaders, and international partners. Titled "Changing gears: Accelerating Anambra’s economic transformation," the aim of this year’s summit was to showcase bankable projects and business opportunities in various sectors and attract significant private sector investment to drive the state’s economic transformation.
This much was emphasized by Governor Chukwuma Soludo in his speech when he said the vision of the government was to make Anambra a destination point rather than a departure point for businesses and talents.
At the end of the summit, 11 Memoranda of Understanding were signed. They include:
With a relatively thriving business and service ecosystem, gains from the Anambra Investment Summit are expected to elevate the Anambra state further as a business and Investment hub.
So, while we wait on the Anambra State Government to implement the outcomes of the summit, here we take stock of the just concluded summit, the things that were said to scale up the status of the state in the Investment landscape.
We also take stock of the last investment summit to know how much progress has been made in attracting investments?
15 NOV 2024 · For close to two weeks now, we have been presented with the financial status of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, thanks to insights from two separate reports.
The first report, published by the civic-tech organization BudgIT and titled "the 2024 State of States" , revealed that 32 out of 36 states relied on the monthly allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for at least 55% of their revenue in 2023. The report highlighted a critical issue which is the fact that over-dependence of state governments on federal transfers, makes them vulnerable to external shocks, particularly those tied to oil revenue fluctuations. It further noted that 14 states relied on FAAC for over 70% of their total revenue, and that transfers made up at least 62% of recurrent revenue for 34 states, with Lagos and Ogun being the only exceptions.
The second report, released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), revealed the debt situation of the states, showing that total debt by the subnationals rose to N11.47 trillion as of June 2024—an increase of 14.57% from December 2023’s figure of N10.01 trillion. This rise was largely driven by foreign debt, which increased from $4.61 billion to $4.89 billion. Due to the naira’s devaluation, the naira-equivalent of this foreign debt surged by 73.46%. Domestic debt, meanwhile, saw a reduction from N5.86 trillion to N4.27 trillion, although it briefly increased by 4.91% between March and June 2024. The DMO report makes it clear that even with higher FAAC allocations, the states’ debt continues to grow, raising questions about their debt sustainability and financial management strategies.
No doubt, these two reports have provided crucial insights into the fiscal health and sustainability challenges facing Nigeria’s states. The verdict? Nigerian states are struggling with fiscal imbalances .
Here, we discuss the financial state of states and see how they can develop and implement strategies for fiscal survival.
14 NOV 2024 · This audio showreel includes samples of programme presentation, live interviews and newscasting.
14 NOV 2024 · This audio showreel includes samples of newscasting, programme presentation, news analysis, live interviews, and a segment from my Sunday program, Praise Zone.
13 NOV 2024 · Future projections on food security in Nigeria are not looking good. At least, that's what current reports on food insecurity have revealed.
According to the Cadre Harmonisé, a regional framework for assessing food insecurity and malnutrition, all current indicators of food insecurity—such as food scarcity, malnutrition, inflation, and child wasting—are projected to worsen by 2025. The report warned that approximately 33 million Nigerians could experience acute food insecurity next year, an increase of 7 million from last year
Also, between October and December 2024, 25.1 million people are likely experiencing acute food insecurity even at the peak of the harvest season. Of this, 3.8 million live in the northeastern states. This number is projected to rise to 5 million.
Nationally, the number of people experiencing Emergency levels (i.e Phase 4) of food insecurity is projected to increase from 1 million people in the peak of the 2024 lean season to 1.8 million people at the same period in 2025, representing a worrying 80 percent rise.
Moreover, 5.4 million children, alongside 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, are at risk of malnutrition and may require urgent treatment if the crisis continues unabated.
Several factors have contributed to the crisis, including economic hardship, inflation, climate change, and security challenges. Specifically, the food inflation stands at 37.7 %, with devastating floods that recently submerged millions of hectares of farmland, leading to estimated crop losses equivalent to a year's food supply for 13 million people.
The severity of the current hunger crisis is that it’s no longer confined to the poor; even the so-called middle class is increasingly struggling to keep up with soaring food costs.
Is Nigeria prepared for the long-term consequences of failing to feed its population?
Here, we discuss what must be done to reverse this trend.
11 NOV 2024 · Drawing inspiration from the parable of the sheep and the goats as found in Matthew 25:31-46, to understand the consequences of a misaligned life.
In the parable, the “goats” are those who live their lives centered on their own needs, their own wants, their own desires. Their lives are misaligned because they are living for themselves and not for God’s purpose. They ignored the poor, the sick, the prisoner, the stranger, those who needed help.
By the parable of the sheep and the goats, may we be inspired to live for God's purpose by meeting the needs of other.
10 NOV 2024 · The US general election has come and gone. Many aspects of the electoral process have captured the world and have continued to form part of global conversations about democracy.
One of the standout features that should drawn attention, particularly for countries still grappling with challenges in electoral participation, is the remote voting system.
Any keen observer would have noticed that although Election Day in the just concluded US election was fixed for Tuesday, November 5, voting had long commenced before the D-Day.
This was possible through a remote voting system known as the mail-in or absentee ballot.
It is estimated that by 31st October, voters nationwide had returned over 64 million (a total of 64,550,126) https://www.euronews.com/2024/11/01/us-election-2024-trump-claims-election-fraud-as-early-voting-records-smashed in the 2024 general election.
In 2020, over 100 million Americans voted by absentee or mail-in ballots.
In Nigeria, low voter turnout has always featured prominently in every election year. Many reasons have been ascribed to this, including, distance from polling unit, voter apathy, late arrival of materials and electoral officers, among others. According to reports, the voter turnout in the 2023 general election was only about 29%. Which means that only about 24.9 million voters out of the 93.4 million registered voters and 87.2 million who collected their Permanent Voters Card voted on election day.
In 1999, the voter turnout was 52.3 per cent. This grew to 69 per cent in 2003. However, it has been on steady decline since then, first to 57.5 per cent in 2007; then to 53.7 per cent in 2011; before dropping to 43.7 per cent in 2015 and 34.75% in 2019.
But the question is, how could the turnout have improved over the years if we adopted a system that provided an alternative to those who cannot vote in person, including the disabled, the elderly, the indisposed, those on essential duty, those living in remote areas and those in the Diaspora?
Follow the conversation.
5 NOV 2024 · The current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is on a mission to revamp Nigeria's fiscal and tax landscape.
The journey began in August 2023 when the committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, headed by Taiwo Oyedele, was inaugurated.
During the inauguration, the committee was charged with harmonizing the tax system and tackling issues related to multiple taxation, improving Nigeria's revenue profile, transforming tax administration, achieving a tax-to-GDP ratio of 18% within the next 12 months and correcting structural imbalances in the tax system that disproportionately burden the poor.
Having spent more than a year working on a framework for effective tax reforms, President Bola Tinubu in October, this year, submitted to the national assembly the committee’s recommendations, which were harmonized into four executive bills.
The bills include the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
Among the key recommendations of the committee, none has generated as much controversy as the one on the derivation-based model of VAT distribution.
The controversy began when the Northern Governors Forum expressed concerns over the proposed changes, saying it's against the interest of the north and other sub-nationals.
The derivation-based model intends to redistribute VAT revenues based on consumption. This means that states would receive VAT revenues according to how much goods and services are consumed within their borders, rather than simply sharing the revenue equally or based on population.
Currently, the percentage of VAT accruable to states where revenue is collected is 20%, with 30% percent distributed according to states' population and the remainder shared equally among all states.
However, with the proposed sharing formula, states with higher consumption rates would receive a larger share which is 60% of VAT revenues.
Debates have been rife with the implications of this model. While opponents argue that it could disadvantage states with lower consumption, supporters claim it would encourage local economic activities. The president has rebuffed the National Economic Council's call to withdraw the bill, insisting it should be allowed to undergo the legislative process.
As Nigerians await the final legislative verdict, here we join in weighing all the angles to this issue.
1 NOV 2024 · On Monday, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, made good on his recent threat to clampdown on street beggars in Abuja.
The crackdown led to the arrest of 34 street beggars and scavengers.
Monday's move followed his initial announcement few days ago, where he stated his intention to sanitize the capital city by removing beggars and informal waste collectors. Wike cited security concerns, public order, and the overall image of Abuja as motivations for the operation.
This clampdown, however, isn’t entirely new. Past FCT Ministers had similarly attempted to tackle street begging, aiming to align Abuja with the aesthetics and security expectations of a capital city.
The challenge of street begging is not limited to Abuja. Like the FCT, different states have faced similar situations, with respective governments occasionally employing stringent measures to manage the growing numbers of street beggars.
The question then arises: why does street begging remain despite these efforts?
Will Wike’s approach serve to ‘beautify’ and secure Abuja, or does it signal a need for more holistic solutions to address this social issue?
Here, we shine the spotlight on the move by the FCT administration to address the challenge posed by street begging.
Is the crackdown by the minister a productive step towards public safety and order, or a temporary fix to a much deeper socioeconomic challenge not just in Abuja but throughout the federation?
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| Author | Njideka Maduka |
| Organization | NJ |
| Categories | Religion |
| Website | - |
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